Stereotype threat on low-stakes formative physics assessments

Stereotype threat occurs when awareness of a negative stereotype impairs performance or learning. This threat can come from common actions like asking for demographic data. Studying equity in student outcomes and the impacts of instruction on including or excluding minoritized groups requires collecting demographic data. Yet, no robust studies have measured if these questions on low-stakes assessments cause stereotype threat. We conducted a randomized control trial with about 12,000 students to address this gap by examining the impact of asking demographic questions before a test on student scores. Our presentation will discuss the results and their implications for teaching and research.